U.S. Department of State Grant Supports International Theater Exchange Program

Chile’s capital city of Santiago is home to a vibrant
cultural life – and to Montclair State partner university, the Universidad
Mayor. A U.S. Department of State grant will increase and diversify study
abroad between the two campuses by supporting an innovative collaborative theater
exchange program.

A $42,000 U.S. Department of State Partners of the Americas
2017 Capacity Building Grant for U.S. Undergraduate Study Abroad has recently
been awarded to Montclair State Theatre and Dance Professor Heather Benton and
Global Education Center Programs Coordinator Wendy Gilbert-Simon.

Their project, Devised Theatre Project of the Americas,
builds on a successful 2016 theater exchange program between the two
universities. Led by Benton and Montclair State Theatre and Dance Professor
Debbie Saivetz, Montclair State students visited Universidad Mayor where they
worked with Mayor Professor Leonor Lopehandia to explore Sergei Belbel’s play Caresses during their spring break. The new
award will support an innovative, sustainable, three-semester program for students
from both Montclair State and Universidad Mayor, who will work together to create
and ultimately perform an original, bilingual theater piece.

“The Global Education Center seeks to expand international
education opportunities for all Montclair State students by creating affordable
and innovative programs,” says Gilbert-Simon. “The excitement generated by the
2016 theater student exchange program with Chile clearly called out for further
development. We are so very pleased to receive this award.”

Students enrolling in the project courses will explore the
intersections between their diverse cultures. According to Benton, around 20
students – 10 from each university – from a variety of majors will be led by
faculty through a unique, three-semester collaborative process.

During the 2017 fall semester, students from the two
universities will connect online. Two phases of live collaboration and
international travel will follow, with Montclair State students traveling to
Chile over spring break in 2018 and with the Chilean students visiting
Montclair State in fall 2018. “Each exchange will include a weeklong
developmental rehearsal process, a ‘work-in-progress’ showing and an itinerary
of cultural explorations in each country,” notes Benton.

Throughout the project, faculty from both institutions will
lead students through a bilingual creative process. “The content and themes of
the piece will emerge from the students and from the collaborative process,
which will guide the creation and dictate the form,” explains Benton. “The
devising process will invite curiosity, ignite deep personal reflection and
provoke questioning. Through this intense process, the students will discover
the theme or themes that demand exploration.”

The Devised Theatre Project strengthens an ongoing
partnership between Montclair State and Universidad Mayor. In 2014, a U.S.
Department of State innovation grant supported a collaborative biotechnology
course between the two institutions, while the spring 2016 pilot program in
Santiago laid the groundwork for the newly funded project. “It was fascinating
to observe students from both institutions explore and connect to one another
with such bravery and freedom through the craft of acting and a shared
theatrical text,” recalls Benton. “Creating an original piece of theater together
seemed like the perfect next step and we are elated to have the opportunity to
bring this project to fruition over the next three semesters.”

Learn more about the
U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at www.studyabroad.state.gov or via Twitter @ECAatState and with
#StudyAbroadBecause. Learn more about Partners of the Americas at www.partners.net or via Twitter @partnersamerica.